Europe for Digital Nomads

Monthly costs are what one person spends living comfortably: a one-bedroom flat on a monthly lease, eating out often, a coworking desk, transport and a social life.

• First time in Europe: Lisbon, for its huge community, mild weather and the D8 visa, or Barcelona for a bigger, louder city on the beach.
• Winter sun: Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Madeira, both mild and sunny from November to March, when the rest of Europe is grey.
• Lowest costs: Sofia, Tbilisi and Budapest, where a comfortable month is about $1,600 to $2,300.
• Big creative cities: Berlin and Barcelona.
• Summer by the sea: Split and the Croatian islands, Valencia and Porto.
• A central base for travel: Prague, Budapest and Berlin, all on the rail network and within an hour or two’s flight of most of the continent.
• A long stay without a visa: Tbilisi, where many passports still get a year visa-free.

The Schengen Area covers 29 countries, including most of the EU plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Visa-free visitors from the US, UK, Canada, Australia and many other countries can spend 90 days in any rolling 180-day period across the whole area, not per country. Bulgaria and Romania became full members in January 2025, so they now count.

Overstaying can mean a fine, an entry ban and trouble getting future visas. Since the Entry/Exit System (EES) went live, your entries and exits are recorded digitally at the border, so the count is exact. Use the EU’s short-stay calculator before you book.

Popular non-Schengen countries to spend the other 90 days in include the UK (up to six months), Ireland, Georgia, Albania, Montenegro, Serbia, North Macedonia, Turkey and Cyprus. ETIAS, a pre-travel authorisation for visa-free visitors to Schengen, is due to follow EES: check its status before you travel.

A nomad visa removes the 90-day limit for one country and gives you a residence permit. Most also need private health insurance, a clean criminal record and proof of accommodation. Some of the most used:

• Spain: the International Teleworker visa, from about €2,850 a month, with a lower tax rate for qualifying new residents. It can lead to permanent residence.
• Portugal: the D8 visa, from €3,680 a month, as a one-year stay visa or a two-year residence permit.
• Croatia: a nomad permit of up to 18 months with no Croatian income tax on foreign remote earnings.
• Hungary: the White Card, from €3,000 a month net.
• Greece, Italy, Malta, Estonia, Cyprus, Romania, Bulgaria and Latvia each have their own schemes, listed in the visa directory.
• Georgia needs no visa at all for a year for many passports, though Georgia now asks for travel insurance at the border and has introduced a work permit requirement whose application to remote work is still unclear.

A comfortable month costs about $1,600 to $2,300 in Tbilisi, Sofia and Budapest, $2,100 to $2,600 in Las Palmas, Madeira, Porto, Valencia, Split and Prague, and $2,900 to $3,100 in Lisbon, Barcelona and Berlin. These are ballpark figures. Rent is most of the difference, and in Lisbon and Barcelona monthly rentals have risen fast. Expect to pay 20 to 40% more in July and August in coastal towns, and less in winter.

Becoming tax resident is a real risk in Europe: most countries treat you as resident after 183 days, and some sooner. Read the tax guide before you plan a long stay anywhere.

Europe runs from UTC+0 in Portugal, the Canary Islands, the UK and Ireland to UTC+2 in Bulgaria, Greece and the Baltics, with Georgia at UTC+4. All of the EU uses daylight saving from late March to late October. The western edge is the best compromise for US work: Lisbon and Las Palmas are five hours ahead of New York, so a 9am New York meeting is at 2pm. Central Europe adds an hour, Eastern Europe two.

• May to June and September to October are the best months almost everywhere: warm, with fewer crowds and lower prices than summer.
• July and August are hot and crowded in Spain, Croatia, Italy and Greece, with high prices in coastal towns. Northern and Central Europe are at their best.
• November to March: go south. The Canary Islands, Madeira, Malta and southern Spain are mild, while Berlin, Prague and Budapest are cold and dark.

Europe’s trains link most capitals, and the budget airlines (Ryanair, easyJet, Wizz Air, Vueling) make most hops under two hours for $30 to $100 if you book ahead and travel light. Rail passes (Interrail for EU residents, Eurail for everyone else) suit people moving often. In cities, public transport is good almost everywhere, and Bolt, FreeNow and Uber cover most capitals.

Public healthcare is excellent but usually only for residents or EU citizens with an EHIC card. Everyone else needs private health insurance; nomad visas require it. Europe is safe by world standards. The main risks are pickpocketing in tourist areas (Barcelona and Lisbon are notorious), bike theft, and scams around tourist sights.